Ray

Ray a film played by Jamie Foxx was magnificent. Jamie Foxx did a wonderful job, he showed the aggressiveness, soft hearted and talented Ray Charles well. Directed by Taylor Hackford , screenplay by James L. White, produced by Hackford, Stuart Benjamin, Howard Baldwin and Karen Baldwin collaborated and made a film that got Grammy award.
Ray Charles mother played by Sharon Warren(Aretha Robinson)played a fiercely independent mother who insisted that he make his own way through the world. She kept pressing on young Ray to be independent. Which prove well because in one scene when Ray Charles mangers tried to play him like a fool he realized it and left. Also when he first met Della Bea, going back home he mesmerized the direction from her house to his.
Kerry Washington played as Della Bea Robinson, Ray Robinson wife was great. She played a God-loving woman but also a woman of heart. She stuck with Ray Charles despite his adulterous acts. But when it was time for her to speak her voice she did and she was powerful and fierce with it.
C.J. Sanders played as little Ray did a magnificent job. He showed the fear of turning blind, watching his brother die and seen his mother go through a struggle to support him.
One factor of this film was lighting, in one scene was when Della confronts Ray the lighting was dark and the only thing you can see is there faces and reactions. It was a factor because it shows the expressions well enough, to the point where you don't even have to listen to the words to know whats going to be said. You automatically know what they're feeling.
Music by Ray Charles obviously was played through out the whole film. But Jamie Foxx singing sounded just like Ray Charles. The jazz, and gospel sounding came natural to him.

Letters from Iwo Jima

Director Clint Eastwood sought the action of Japanese defenders in a film about World War 2 showing the Japanese views. It was a wartime tale of sacrifice and survival.
The ideas and characters are universal in this film. But the language was in Japanese which made it interesting that pure Americans were speaking Japanese.
General Kuribayashi played by Ken Watanabe was great. In the film his role as general was good because his plans were strategic not tactical. He wasn't as interested in winning the battle he was more interested in holding up U.S. invasion of Japan.
Eastwood and Stern(cinematographer) used the advantage of shooting with small cameras. With that you can feel the soldiers claustrophobic in battle.
Going on research this film was shoot in a real tunnel 100ft underground where Japanese soldiers had killed themselves during the war. Two third of the film was shot in actual mines, caves, and lava fields mountains. The good of having to be in a actual cave is that each of the characters felt what the soldiers felt from being in there.
One key factor of the film was the color black. An example to understand the effect of the color is to imagine yourself on a highway where theres no light until a car passes you and the car light shines directly on you. The only thing thats shown is the light and the object its shines on but everything else is pitch black. There were no extra lights. Another color factor was red. Red mostly symbolize blood, the color was on the military insignia and around the explosions and muzzle blast there was red.
The gruesome part was when the soldiers commit suicide by blowing themselves up with grenades.